College Football 2011: 20 Bold Predictions for Non-Conference Play
The non-conference slate for the 2011 college football season offers up several interesting storylines for our enjoyment.
From FSU hosting the Sooners, to Alabama traveling to Happy Valley, there are all kinds of intriguing matchups and developing plots to keep track of.
This list details several matchups and trends, and gives predictions for several big-time matchups.
20. Navy's Streak Will End
1 of 20
Navy has defeated Notre Dame the last two seasons, and three out of the last four.
Brian Kelly and his squad will have little difficulty in avenging their 35-17 loss of last season in 2011 though.
It was fun while it lasted, Midshipmen...
19. Georgia Will Continue In-State Dominance
2 of 20
Georgia is 9-1 in their last 10 contests with Georgia Tech, and there is no reason to believe that trend will change this season.
The Bulldogs return quarterback Aaron Murray, who should put up big numbers even without receiver A.J. Green.
Tech does not have the personnel to be able to contain Georgia on either side of the ball this season, and this one could be a blowout.
18. Notre Dame Will Sweep the Pac-12
3 of 20
Over-hyped, under-performing pretenders.
This has been the general consensus regarding the Irish the past several seasons.
This year, they change that perception with victories over Stanford and USC that will go a long way toward reestablishing their national dominance.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
17. Miami Will Be Manhandled by Ohio State
4 of 20
Even with Jim Tressel's resignation (finally), the Buckeyes have the talent and capability to make some noise on the national level.
Miami has explosive skill players in the backfield and at wide receiver, but is going to struggle finding someone to get them the ball.
Even though the game is in Miami, the Buckeyes will take care of business.
16. Northern Illinois Will Give Wisconsin All They Can Handle
5 of 20
Wisconsin blew out Northwestern, Michigan and Indiana last season, but they have never been known for consistently manhandling non-conference foes. Case in point, the Badgers struggled to put away San Jose State last season, when they were one of the worst teams in FBS football.
This season, the Badgers must face Northern Illinois at "neutral site" Soldier Field in Chicago.
While the Badgers are theoretically the more talented team, the Huskies have one of the more talented quarterbacks in the country leading their offense.
Chandler Harnish could have a field day against a Wisconsin secondary that is less than stellar.
15. Miami (OH) Plays "Giant Killer"
6 of 20
The Redhawks are going to sneak up on their BCS opponents.
With Zac Dysert and Austin Boucher, they have two quarterbacks quite capable of doing damage, and their offensive line returns four starters. Nick Harwell will lead the receivers and showed himself last season to be ready to take over for stand-out star Armand Robinson.
While Minnesota and Cincinnati are not exactly threats to compete in their respective conferences, they should be a good barometer of how far the Redhawks will go this season.
And if Missouri is not ready to go in Week 1, they might get ambushed.
14. LSU Won't Hang with the Ducks
7 of 20
It's been belabored to the point that it's beating a dead horse at this point, but Jordan Jefferson is not the guy who can lead LSU to the BCS Championship.
This early season matchup will prove it.
Darron Thomas and LaMichael James lead that high-octane Oregon offense, and while the Tigers have some tremendous talent on the defensive side of the ball, they will have a hard time slowing down the speedy pace set by the Ducks.
13. Pitt Will Be Below .500 in Non-Conference Play
8 of 20
Pitt lost running back Dion Lewis, but quarterback Tino Sunseri and running back Ray Graham should provide plenty of spark for the offense.
The schedule starts with two quick tune-ups against Maine and Buffalo, and then things get ugly.
The Panthers must travel to Iowa before hosting a rejuvenated Notre Dame squad and facing a less than easy to beat Utah squad on October 15.
The Panthers will finish non-con play with three losses.
12. The SEC Will Dominate Non-Con Play
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Other than LSU losing to the Ducks, the SEC is going to be uber dominant once again.
With a plethora of incredible recruiting classes throughout the conference and the incredible level of the returning talent, the SEC is poised once again to take advantage of every other conference.
While they may beat up on each other so much a BCS Championship game might not happen, the conference is clearly the best in the land, and that will show it in non-con play.
11. South Carolina vs. East Carolina Will Be a Dogfight
10 of 20
South Carolina has incredible talent on the offensive side of the ball, especially with quarterback Stephen Garcia returning this week. The Gamecocks also have a decent defensive unit and a solid coach.
Their game against the Pirates should be a blowout, but ECU quarterback Dominique Davis is a wild card.
His dual-threat style of play will challenge USC, and the Pirates' high-powered offense will put up some points.
It will be closer than expected, especially if Garcia goes on a binge before game time.
10. San Diego State Will Tie Up "Shoelace" and Company
11 of 20
There is no question Denard Robinson is a superior talent on the football field.
His new head coach, Brady Hoke, came over by way of San Diego State.
Several intriguing storylines highlight this matchup.
The Aztecs have explosive running back Ronnie Hillman and Heisman dark horse quarterback Ryan Lindley leading a very productive offense that the Wolverines will have a hard time containing.
While Michigan has a few weeks to see how the new offense and defense work, they can't fiddle with it too much going into this one, as the Aztecs' coaching staff will know exactly how to counter and vice versa.
9. Oklahoma State/Tulsa the Most Explosive Offensive Performance of the Year
12 of 20
On Sept. 17, the Oklahoma State Cowboys travel to Tulsa to take on the Golden Hurricane.
Each of these teams averaged more than 41 points per game last season.
Quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receiver Justin Blackmon form the dynamic nucleus of the Cowboys' offense, and should provide many of the fireworks for this occasion.
Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne is no slouch himself, leading an offense that averaged almost 300 yards passing per game.
This should be the highest-scoring contest of the year, especially since the Cowboys rarely play defense.
8. Arizona State Proves Legit
13 of 20
Arizona State has struggled on the outskirts of Mediocreville for several years, but Dennis Erickson's squad seems prepared to take the leap to BCS town this season.
Quarterback Brock Osweiler has surprising mobility for a man of his height, and the ASU offense boasts several seedy players at the skill positions.
The strength of the team though should be the defense.
There may not be a faster, more athletic bunch in the country, and if cornerback Omar Bolden can return to form after an offseason injury, the defense will be an elite unit.
Their early September matchup with Missouri will tell us which team is a legit BCS threat.
7. Michigan State Will Win Without Trick Plays
14 of 20
Michigan State's last-second touchdown off a fake field goal to pull off the win against the Fighting Irish was one of the highlights of last season.
This year, the Spartans won't need the trickery against Notre Dame.
Even with the loss of Eric Gordon and Greg Jones, the Spartans' defense is poised to take the next step to elite. Their offense may already be at that point with the emergence of Edwin Baker and LeVeon Bell in the backfield, and with the arm of quarterback Kirk Cousins, there is no reason MSU will not beat Notre Dame by at least a touchdown.
6. Clemson Loses Yet Again
15 of 20
The Clemson/South Carolina rivalry is quietly one of the best in college football.
The Gamecocks have had little difficulty dispatching the Tigers each of the last two seasons, and there is very little to prevent them from doing so again.
Stephen Garcia will be back with the program, and Marcus Lattimore has the skill to make a run at the Heisman next season.
Clemson has, well, not much—except a really great college town.
And did I mention the game is in Columbia this year?
5. Boise State/Tulsa Will Be Decided in Overtime
16 of 20
If any other non-AQ school has the horses to challenge Boise State, it's Tulsa.
G.J. Kinne is a great quarterback, and led the team in both rushing and passing. Wide receiver Damaris Johnson is an all-purpose type of guy, who finished with an average of 10.2 yards per carry and more than 15 yards per catch last season.
With the retooling going on for Boise's defense, the Golden Hurricane should be able to take advantage and keep this one tight to the end.
4. Alabama Will Decimate Penn State—Again
17 of 20
Penn State has no one to give them consistent play from the quarterback position. While the rest of the offense is looking solid, and both lines have to better than last season (they couldn't be worse), the Lions will not have the talent to hang with the Tide.
It may be a bigger blowout than last season's meeting.
3. UCLA Will Be Too Much for the 'Horns Again
18 of 20
Sure, last season was an anomaly—at least, that's what Texas fans hope.
Once again, the Longhorns should have a pretty miserly defense, but Garrett Gilbert looks prepared to sink into mediocrity yet again.
With the trip to L.A. looming early in the season, Gilbert does not have much time to solve his turnover and efficiency problems.
2. Michigan Will Implode Against Notre Dame
19 of 20
Big game at home in the Big House.
Perfect time for big plays, right?
Not for Michigan.
Unfortunately for the Wolverines, Notre Dame comes knocking on the door the second week of the season. The Irish have high expectations this season and will be amped up to go in the first night game at the Big House.
The Wolverines can get amped all they want, but they just are not going to be quite ready for what the Irish can throw at them.
Besides, Michigan will have one week against a subpar opponent prior to this game to test their new schemes, and tweaking them against a team as talented as Notre Dame will end up badly for Michigan.
1. Oklahoma Fails at Florida State
20 of 20
The Sooners have all the hype and on paper, look like the best team in the country.
The difficulty will be in solving the defensive squad FSU is developing. Nigel Bradham is an absolute force and will only get better.
Besides that, Bob Stoops does not exactly have the best track record in big games.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
